


play my heart, waste your time

by huehuehyuka



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Break Up, Confusion, Crying, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt, Fluff, Getting Back Together, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired by a Movie, Kissing, Love Letters, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Platonic Cuddling, True Love, but not really, but not really (2), kind of, there will be a lot of that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-12 22:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29392047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huehuehyuka/pseuds/huehuehyuka
Summary: As most love stories have led people to believe, opposites attract and compliment each other. Soobin and Kai’s interactions will mirror those of a love story. Opposites coming together and finding that they have something special. Or at least, that’s what the “hero” tends to think, blind to the reality of the "love interest". Sometimes, they are both blind, oblivious to their effects. But the "hero" would never admit that.The "hero" could never be wrong, right? Soobin is supposed to be the hero after all.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin & Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin/Huening Kai
Kudos: 18





	1. Prologue

_I hope you don’t think of me as the one that got away._

_I was once told people are meant to fall in love, but are not meant to be together._

_Whether or not we were in love is still debatable, but I think we can agree that we aren’t meant to be._

_And that’s okay._

_Is “love” still an appropriate way to end these letters?_

♡

The “hero”, Choi Soobin. 

Twenty years old, above average height, introverted, often described as a “gentle giant”. One whack from his hands could send a man flying, but he would never use his strength for harm. Hugs were more of his style.

One year into studying to become a psychologist, he dropped out of university after a very low point in his life. Now in a much better place, Soobin takes online college courses and has a job at a bookstore. He lives with two friends. Correction, he lives with his only two friends. Most of his days were easy and simple. Four out of seven days, he worked. The other three days he would spend exercising with a friend, gaming, sleeping, studying, or any combination of the four. His friends and siblings encourage him to go out more, but Soobin is satisfied with way of living. 

He values consistency, stability and reliability. Taehyun, who is one of Soobin’s two friends, proved himself to be all three of those things. Taehyun is one of his coworkers, though technically not a coworker. Taehyun worked at the coffee shop attached to the bookstore. Taehyun was everything Soobin needed. Consistent, stable, and reliable. Beomgyu, Soobin’s other friend, was not consistent by nature, but proved to be a great addition to their group. An appropriate amount of adventure to add to Soobin’s life. 

Beomgyu often tries to set up Soobin with different girls and boys here and there. Usually, they are friends of whatever guy Beomgyu is currently talking to. Those never work out for two reasons. One, Soobin is about 90% sure he does not like women. Two, Soobin is what many would call a hopeless romantic, emphasis on the hopeless. He believes in true love and fate too much for his own good. He believes that one day, the person of his dreams will show up naturally. His heart rate would rise and he would know that that person is his person. It’s a feeling that can not be artificially created or forcefully destroyed.

Enter the “love interest”, Huening Kai.

Eighteen years old, also above average height, extroverted, often described as “a golden retriever puppy who doesn’t quite know how big he has grown”. His bright presence makes anyone in a five mile radius smile. His laugh could also be heard from five miles away.

He had just started university with dreams to become a musician. He is working towards a degree in music production and is currently minoring in dance, just for fun. Those three words are common in his vocabulary. When asked why he does most things, Kai simply shrugs and says “just for fun”. Sometimes the results are not as fun. This was proven when Kai dyed his hair red just to dye it brown a week later, saying that he did not like the color.

He is excited by change and values the ability to adapt to change. He thrives on spontaneity, and so does his best friend, Yeonjun. Before the whole musician thing, Kai had planned on becoming a nurse, like his mom wanted. The boy was already set to go to nursing school but after hearing Yeonjun talk about his university, Kai submitted his application and audition tape the day of the deadline. He received his acceptance letter months later. Yeonjun liked to tease Kai saying that he could have applied to any school on the deadline and still make it in. Kai just laughs.

To Kai, romantic love was unnecessary. A romantic relationship would just be a bonus if the time ever came. The idea of a domestic life with a romantic partner did not cross Kai’s mind often, and if it ever did, he would shrug off the idea. It was not appealing to him. The thought of a relationship being fate was silly. Kai believed that if he had a long-term relationship, it would be because of his own choice, not fate. 

Near-opposites, it seems. Though, as most love stories have led people to believe, opposites attract and compliment each other. Soobin and Kai’s interactions will mirror those of a love story. Opposites coming together and finding that they have something special. Or at least, that’s what the “hero” tends to think, blind to the reality of the "love interest". Sometimes, they are both blind, oblivious to their effects. But the "hero" would never admit that. 

The "hero" could never be wrong, right? Soobin is supposed to be the hero after all.

Right?


	2. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Person A meets Person B, well kind of.
> 
> It's more like Person A sees Person B twice, but wants to see him again and again and again.

Coffee. New books on the front shelves. The familiar and welcoming smells of Soobin’s workplace. For the past few months, he had been enjoying his four days at the shop and three days off. It was a nice schedule. Paired with his general education classes and now-normal sleep schedule, he felt like his life was really coming together. 

He carried a box of new arrivals from the storage room to the front of the store, placing it on the ground next to the display table. He placed only a few copies of each book on this main display table. In a week or so, these books would be taken back to the shelves of the appropriate genres. For now, they get time in the spotlight. Soobin aligned the books perfectly straight and next to the appropriate labels on the table. ‘Children’s’, ‘Teen Fiction’, ‘Young Adult’, ‘Fiction’, ‘Non-Fiction’. He stepped back to look at the arrangement, then scanned the rest of the store, eyeing the perfectly set up tables towards the coffee shop and organized shelves of books. 

The entire store was not very big, and about a quarter of the space went towards the coffee shop attached to it. Not too many people worked at once and it never got very busy. Most people these days either ordered their books online and picked them up in store, spending only a few minutes inside, or read books entirely online. There was an inside joke that people really come for the coffee. Sometimes that joke felt very close to reality.

Two boys entered the shop, one with a pink mullet and the other with long brown bangs. The pink-haired one had chunky sneakers with high-waisted pants and a tucked in long sleeved shirt. The brown-haired one wore a simple yellow hoodie and black sweatpants. Soobin could have sworn the building lit up when they came in, though in reality it was just the effect of the sunlight leaking through the open door. Still, the somewhat magical effect left Soobin a little stunned.

The pink-haired boy cracked a joke and the other laughed. It was loud and high pitched, but to Soobin it sounded perfect. He watched as the boy quickly covered his mouth and muffled his laughter. Cute. They walked to the coffee shop, still talking but now a little quieter. They ordered their drinks. Soobin was too far to hear exactly what their orders were. He suddenly remembered that he had to restock the character plushies in the children’s section of the store. 

A quick trip to the storage room to exchange boxes, putting down the box of books to pick up a box of small, soft plushies. There were a few book characters and a few random characters like Molang. Though Soobin must have been in the storage room for two minutes, when he made his way to the children’s shelves, the bright boy in the yellow hoodie was leaning over one of the wire racks of plushies. He was nearly Soobin’s height, only a few centimeters shorter. Soobin was finally given a clear view of the boy’s delicate features and bright eyes. So pretty. 

“More plushies?” he exclaimed, fists rising to just below his chin in excitement. Soobin was almost at a loss for words.

Almost.

“Yeah. I just need to put them on the, um, rack,” he said softly. “Excuse me.”

“Ah, sorry, sorry,” the boy smiled sheepishly, making room for Soobin to complete his task. Soobin could feel that the boy was watching him place each toy on the right rack. Book characters on the bottom and middle layer. Molangs on the top layer, which was empty. 

The moment Soobin placed the squishy white bunny on the shelf, a slightly-too-loud “Molang!” was heard, startling Soobin. 

“Heh, yeah, the kids tend to really like… them…” Soobin trailed off as the other picked up the small plushie and poked its cheek. 

“I really like plushies,” the boy spoke. “Molang is my favorite. I’m collecting Molang plushies. Oh, do you have the grey one?” 

Soobin looked down into the box, pulling out a bunny, the same shape as the white one but with a grey body and lighter face. 

“Thank you!” He placed the white one back on the shelf and took the grey one from Soobin’s hand. Soobin did not have a chance to reply as the cute boy’s friend called him over, holding two iced drinks. Their interaction ended as quickly as it started, but something within Soobin sparked that day. 

Maybe it was his exposure to cheesy romance stories as a young child, but Soobin swore he felt his heart skip a beat and that he heard wedding bells in the distance. In his eyes, the boy that he had just encountered was sparkling. He felt like he had just seen a living marble statue or a manga character designed to be the main love interest. Living, walking, breathing perfection.

The heart-fluttering feeling caused by simple eye contact was something Soobin would never forget.

Soobin quickly put the rest of the small stuffed animals on the rack and continued his work day, mind full of the boy he interacted with for less than a minute. He watched as the boy checked out his plushie and left. It was incredible, really. It was as if in that moment, every love song and story made sense. The rest of his work day went by, slow and uneventful. 

Luckily, his and Taehyun’s hours were almost lined up, Soobin got off work only an hour before Taehyun, giving him time to sit at one of the tables and ramble to his friend. It was a system that Soobin appreciated a lot, especially today. He ordered his usual “sugar and cream with coffee”, as Taehyun called it, and sat down at the table closest to the counter.

“Did you see him, Taehyun?” Soobin sighed dreamily. “The boy that came in earlier today?”

“You’re gonna have to be a lot more specific,” Taehyun rolled his eyes. “Several people came in today.”

“Yellow hoodie, fluffy hair, radiant smile,” Soobin clenched his fists, shaking them slightly. “He was so cute!!”

“You explain, as if I’d even remember everyone who came in.” Taehyun stopped wiping the counter and looked at his friend. “Is this going to be like the last time you saw a cute stranger?” 

The older frowned and took a sip from his drink. Taehyun had a point, Soobin did have a habit of falling for cute strangers. “It’s not like that,” he stated, lightly slamming the plastic cup on the table. “I swear he’s the one.”

“You didn’t even talk to him.” 

“Yes I did!”

“Yeah, for like three seconds.”

“It was longer than that!”

The door opened, interrupting their little quarrel, and a customer came in. The friends watched silently as the lady made her way through the bookstore. 

“Good afternoon,” Taehyun greeted her before she was too far away. 

Soobin looked up at the blonde behind the counter. He was about to speak but Taehyun spoke first. “You don’t even know his name.”

“I…”

“You might never see him again,” the other continued. “Did you think about that? Hyung, I feel like you’re too obsessed with finding ‘the one’... It’s a bit much now.”

Soobin took another sip in defeat, shrinking in his seat. Taehyun could be very blunt, he knew this already. So while the younger’s words were not unexpected, they certainly were not what Soobin wanted to hear. “Who are you to judge if it’s meant to be?” 

“I’m here to tell you to be a little more logical. You’ve done this several times.”

“Love isn’t logical,” the older crossed his arms and pouted like a child.

“Yeah,” Taehyun sighed. “It really isn't… But sometimes, you have to be.”

There was a long pause before Taehyun broke the silence. “I’m sorry, hyung. I just don’t want to see you hung up about someone you’ll never see again.”

“It’s fine… You’re just looking out for me.”

Soobin scrolled through Twitter, taking sips of his drink every now and then. Before he knew it, the hour had passed. The people in charge of the next coffee shop shift arrived and Taehyun was free. 

“Come on,” Taehyun said, tapping Soobin’s shoulder. “Beomgyu said he needs the car later today.” It was Soobin’s turn to drive, while Taehyun texted Beomgyu and reported to Soobin what he had planned.

“Beomgyu has another date?” Soobin snorted. “Isn’t this like the fourth guy this month?” 

“No, it’s the third. He went on two dates with one guy, surprisingly. He knows how to reel them in, but he can never get them to stay,” Taehyun smirked, covering his mouth with an exaggerated gasp and a giggle. 

“Taehyun!” Soobin playfully scolded. It was true, to some extent. Beomgyu often went out with different guys, but never seemed to go any further than two or three dates. Unlike Soobin, Beomgyu’s mild obsession seemed to be more focused on having fun and meeting new people rather than meeting “the one”. 

“Am I wrong?”

“Beomgyu isn’t even here to defend himself!” 

“That’s not my fault!”

Soobin shook his head at the blonde boy’s jokes. There was a brief silence as Soobin made a left turn. 

“Do you think Beomgyu will try to set me up with some guy’s friend again?” Soobin groaned. 

“I don’t know why you ever agree to any of those,” Taehyun pouted, putting his phone down on his lap. “Why go out with random people when we could do something at home? You have a whole list of movies you wanna watch and I bought more popcorn two days ago.”

“I don’t know… Something new? It’s nice to go somewhere other than work.”

“Is it really?” Taehyun raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah… I think,” he answered hesitantly.

“Nicer than quality time with your best friend?”

Soobin could not think of an appropriate answer. 

“That’s what I thought,” the younger huffed. 

“Look, next time he offers something, I’ll spend that night with you. Alright?” Soobin offered.

“Promise?” Soobin guessed that Taehyun was looking at him with wide, sparkly eyes. He would check, but the last thing he needs is a car accident. 

“Promise.”

They arrived at their small, simple, slightly older house. It was one story with three roughly equal-sized bedrooms and two bathrooms, but one shower. Soobin, Taehyun, and Beomgyu made it work, which is code for Taehyun often has to bang on the bathroom door before his and Beomgyu’s morning classes. The space wasn’t big by any means, but to them it was comfortable. Even with the bickering and occasional lack of space, it was nice. 

Soobin unlocked the door and the two were immediately met by Beomgyu’s loud voice. 

“Finally!! Now I can tell you about him!”

“What happened to your last guy?” the tallest asked, slipping off his shoes. Taehyun had already found his way to the couch, leaning on Beomgyu’s shoulder to catch a glimpse at the dating app messages.

“He told me he ate a tomato like an apple so I got up and left,” Beomgyu shrugged.

“You can’t just do that?!” Soobin rubbed his temples. He joined the other two on the couch.

“I paid for my own food. It’s fine. It was a week ago,” Beomgyu said. “Anyway, this new guy--”

“Yeonjun?” Taehyun read off of Beomgyu’s phone.

“Do not interrupt me,” he snapped, pulling his phone away from the youngest. “Yes, his name is Yeonjun. He’s 21, a virgo, an ENFP--”

“I don’t know what any of that means, tell me about who he actually is,” Soobin butted in, earning a stomp on his foot. “You brat,” he spat.

“I said don’t interrupt me!” Beomgyu grumbled. “He’s a dancer. He’s really really sweet, and kind of dumb but in an endearing way.”

“Just like you!” Taehyun teased.

“You are both on thin ice.”

“No, we’re on the couch-- Ow, fuck!” Soobin winced when he heard the smack of Beomgyu’s hand on Taehyun’s forearm. 

“He looked really cool and intimidating in his pictures, but he’s actually really sweet. Yeonjun and I are going to get ice cream later and talk,” Beomgyu continued. “He wanted to get lunch, but I told him I was busy.”

“You were just here? You could have taken public transport or get an Uber,” the oldest boy questioned.

“I want to see his flavor preference, duh… I also didn’t want to leave my bed.”

Taehyun and Soobin shared a skeptical look. 

“What if he gets mint choco?” the blonde grimaced.

“Honestly? By the way things have gone so far, I think I could forgive him for that,” Beomgyu looked down at his phone. “I really, really like him…” he said, in the softest voice the other two had ever heard from him. Beomgyu continued talking about how he and Yeonjun had already bonded so much throughout the day, texting back and forth. It sure sounded like Beomgyu had fallen head over heels for him, and from the way Beomgyu described him, Yeonjun had fallen for Beomgyu, too.

Good for them.

Soobin noted how Taehyun didn’t once criticize Beomgyu’s quickly formed feelings for someone he just met. Taehyun never questioned Beomgyu’s love interests. Why were Soobin’s so different? 

Well, to be fair, Beomgyu and his cute boy had real conversations. Soobin’s cute boy just asked for a stuffed animal. No, that won't discourage him. Still, remembering Taehyun’s words, Soobin tried to be a little reasonable. If he sees the boy again, then maybe fate is pulling them together.

“Isn’t that just a coincidence?” Taehyun asked from his bed. Soobin was sitting on his friend’s bedroom floor, explaining his thoughts. 

“Then three times. If we meet three times,” Soobin held up three fingers. “It’s fate.”

“I don’t know why you’re so hung up on this,” the other groaned, leaning slightly over the end of his bed. 

The other thought for a moment. Yeah, he didn’t really know either. Soobin usually crushed on strangers in passing, but for some reason, this boy was particularly special to him. 

“This is exactly what I wanted to avoid,” the younger groaned, falling back onto his bed. “Keep the porch light on for Beomgyu when he gets home. I want to sleep.”

“Alright.” Soobin stood up. “Goodnight, Tyunnie.” 

“G’night,” the younger answered as Soobin turned off his room light and shut the door.

Soobin glanced outside through the window near the front door, confirming that the porch light was on. Their small grey car was still in the driveway. There was a last minute change of plans, and Yeonjun came to pick up Beomgyu for their date instead. 

At that moment, a sleek black car pulled up at the street in front of their house. Out came Beomgyu and the pink-haired guy from the bookstore. Small world, Soobin chuckled to himself. The amusement was quickly replaced with shock when he got a glance of who was in the car. The passenger seat window rolled down, giving Soobin a view of the cute boy in the yellow hoodie waving at Yeonjun and Beomgyu. He must have teased the pink-haired boy, judging by the way Yeonjun pretended to smack him.

Soobin quickly looked away and walked to his room asking himself if that should count as the second time. Technically they didn’t meet, but he still kind of ran into him.

Either way, Soobin decided this will be the only time he wants Beomgyu to introduce him to someone’s friend.

♡

_To the boy in the yellow hoodie,_

_I hope I see you again… and again and again._

**Author's Note:**

> @minisoob1 on twitter :3


End file.
